Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for May 9th, 2024. In today’s article, we’ve got a solid grab bag of goodies for you. A couple of news items, which is rare for a Thursday. Then, new releases. We’re doing something a little different from today forward. I will not be writing about every single game that comes out, but rather the ones that really look good. Something had to give for me time-wise, and this is what I chose. After that, we have the usual lists of new and outgoing sales. A big day, so let’s get to it!
News
‘Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition’ Comes to Switch July 18th
Well, this is an odd one. Speedrunning has become quite popular in recent years, and I guess Nintendo is seeing a chance to get a nibble of that cookie. Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition sees you taking on more than one hundred and fifty challenges from thirteen different NES games, trying to complete them as fast as you possibly can. It also features a multiplayer mode so you can compete with friends or family to see who is the quickest. There’s kind of an NES Remix vibe about it all, but the speed focus makes it its own thing. In addition to the digital version, Nintendo will be selling a physical collector’s edition with a replica NES cartridge and a number of other tchotchkes. Oh, and the actual game on a Switch cartridge too. You’ve got to love these late-life releases on consoles.
Swim Into the ‘Endless Ocean’ in the Latest ‘Tetris 99’ Maximus Cup Event
Time for another Tetris 99 Maximus Cup! It’s the 40th such event, and all the usual features are here. It starts on Friday, runs through the weekend, and if you can earn a hundred event points before it finishes you’ll get to keep the special event theme. The only thing distinct to this particular event is the theme, and this time around it’s centered around Endless Ocean Luminous. There’s something about Tetris and water themes that just works, so I’ll happily collect this one. See you in the Tetris fields!
Select New Releases
Little Kitty, Big City ($24.99)
You’re just a normal apartment-kitty taking a nap in the sun when an accident sends you tumbling down to the street below. Now you have to find out how to get home, and doing so will require you to explore the big city. You’ll meet other animals, take on quests, and collect funny hats. It’s a fun open world playground for you to run around in, and there are plenty of things to find for those who are interested in seeking them out. This game has been cooking for a while, so it’s nice to see it finally reach the finish line. Definitely one for the players seeking some chill and/or cute times.
Animal Well ($24.99)
There’s a lot of buzz around this puzzle-platforming adventure. You hatch from a flower and have to explore the mysterious world around you. There are plenty of puzzles to solve, and as you work your way through them you’ll be able to expand how much of the map is available to you. It’s non-linear, too. You can pick the order you seek out the various items scattered about, and you’ll find each of them has multiple applications. I’ll be pretty surprised if this doesn’t end up making a fairly big splash, at least within indie game fan circles.
1000xResist ($19.99)
A new science-fiction adventure published by the folks at Fellow Traveler, 1000xResist sees you in a grim future one thousand years from now. Aliens came to Earth and brought a deadly disease with them, virtually wiping out all of humanity. One girl survives, and becomes immune to the disease and, for good measure, immune to dying. She clones herself and presides over her new society as the ALLMOTHER. You play as Watcher, and you do your job diligently for the sake of the ALLMOTHER. That is until the day that Fixer comes to you with a secret, one she is killed for trying to reveal. It now falls on you to reveal the truth. This… looks rad. I might go ahead and review this.
Gift ($24.99)
Ah, a luxury cruise ship. Surely nothing bad could happen on one of those! So when you wake up and suddenly find yourself on one, there’s probably nothing to worry about. And hey, there are all these passengers on the ship that seem to stir your memories somehow. Just one problem: the ship is sinking. You’ll need to make your escape as the ship tilts and the water level keeps rising. Sometimes you’ll need to think your way through, other times it will take swift action. This certainly has an intriguing concept, but it all depends on the execution. I haven’t had a chance to play it yet, so that’s something I can’t speak to.
Imagine Earth ($24.99)
Sure, let’s have another decent building simulation game on the Switch. This one features a lot of the usual things, like creating cities and trying to manage your resources, but it puts a heavy emphasis on trying to manage your ecological footprint while growing. Can you maximize production sufficiently to appease your corporate overlords without wrecking your planet? If so, can you let the real world know how you pulled it off? Reviews for this were fairly positive over on Steam, so if the concept sounds interesting to you then it’s probably worth investigating further.
CorpoNation: The Sorting Process ($14.99)
In this game, you work as a lab technician for a corporate-owned state, and your job is to sort genetic samples. Do your work well, and everything will go nice and smooth in your life. But wait, who are these rogue workers that keep contacting you and asking you to join them? And what’s really going on here? Puzzle out those answers if you really want to know the truth, but do keep in mind that curiosity has killed before and you won’t make an exception for your case.
Rainbow Cotton ($19.99)
Finally, the entire Cotton franchise is present and accounted for on the Switch. That’s impressive when you consider how rare and sought after so many of these games have been until these reissues. Rainbow Cotton was the last new game in the series for quite some time, initially releasing on the SEGA Dreamcast all the way back in the year 2000. It’s something of a follow-up to Panorama Cotton, and uses a similar behind-the-back view for its gameplay. It’s been given quite a bit of love in this version, but you can also play a Retro Mode if you want something more similar to the original. I’ll have a review of this soon.
Arcade Archives Tutankham ($7.99)
I remember this game being a little bit of a thing for a hot minute back when it came out in 1982. It’s a maze game of sorts, but with a few gimmicks. You can only shoot horizontally despite the fact that enemies can come at you from any cardinal direction. There are locked doors that you’ll need keys to open, and that will sometimes entail some backtracking. If the timer for the stage reaches zero, you won’t be able to shoot anymore and that’s not a position you want to be in. It’s pretty fun for a game of its era, and not one you often see Konami reissue.
EGGCONSOLE Wanderers From Ys PC-8801mkIISR ($6.49)
So far, the Ys games in the EGGCONSOLE line have been a lot of fun to go through. This will be the last of the bunch, sadly. Wanderers From Ys, or Ys III as it is sometimes known, takes the top-down bump action of the first two games and trades it out for side-scrolling stabbing. Not everyone takes to it, and its remake Oath in Felghana has replaced it in the hearts and minds of many, but I think it’s quite enjoyable for what it is. As usual there’s a fair bit of Japanese here, but there are certainly plenty of English walkthroughs out there for the various ports of this game if you need help figuring out where to go. I’ll be reviewing this one in a bit.
Sales
(North American eShop, US Prices)
An unusual mix, to be sure. A few of Square Enix’s games, Ufouria 2, New Star GP, DRAINUS, and more. Have a good look through that list of new stuff, because there are good deals to be found. In the outbox, there are plenty of Star Wars games along with a few others to consider. Be ready for a potential big list tomorrow, though.
Select New Sales
HunterX: Code Name T ($11.89 from $16.99 until 5/22)
HunterX ($8.99 from $14.99 until 5/22)
Mouse Trap: The Board Game ($3.99 from $19.99 until 5/22)
The Game of Life 2 ($5.99 from $29.99 until 5/22)
Little Goody Two Shoes ($15.99 from $19.99 until 5/22)
Fear Effect Sedna ($1.99 from $19.99 until 5/22)
Life is Strange Arcadia Bay Collection ($19.99 from $39.99 until 5/22)
Life is Strange 2 ($15.99 from $31.99 until 5/22)
Life is Strange: True Colors ($17.99 from $59.99 until 5/22)
PowerWash Simulator ($19.99 from $24.99 until 5/22)
Oh My Godheads: Party Edition ($2.99 from $14.99 until 5/22)
Gunborg: Dark Matters ($4.49 from $14.99 until 5/23)
Skautfold: Shrouded in Sanity ($2.99 from $9.99 until 5/23)
Ufouria 2: The Saga ($19.99 from $24.99 until 5/23)
New Star GP ($17.99 from $29.99 until 5/23)
New Star Manager ($11.99 from $19.99 until 5/23)
OmegaBot ($3.89 from $12.99 until 5/23)
Star Ocean The Second Story R ($39.99 from $49.99 until 5/23)
Dogurai ($2.49 from $4.99 until 5/23)
The Immortal ($3.99 from $7.99 until 5/23)
Jim Power: The Lost Dimension ($4.99 from $9.99 until 5/23)
The Humans ($3.99 from $7.99 until 5/23)
The Samurai Collection ($4.99 from $9.99 until 5/23)
Sturmfront: The Mutant War ($2.99 from $9.99 until 5/23)
Arietta of Spirits ($5.99 from $19.99 until 5/23)
Saga of the Moon Priestess ($4.19 from $5.99 until 5/24)
Pretty Girls Speed ($2.39 from $5.99 until 5/24)
Pretty Girls Breakers ($2.79 from $6.99 until 5/24)
Feeble Light ($2.49 from $4.99 until 5/24)
Color Pals ($2.49 from $4.99 until 5/24)
DRAINUS ($13.99 from $19.99 until 5/30)
Drago Noka ($13.99 from $19.99 until 5/30)
Noel the Mortal Fate ($12.49 from $24.99 until 5/30)
Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit ($14.99 from $24.99 until 5/30)
The Good Life ($15.99 from $39.99 until 5/30)
The Walking Dead: Destinies ($19.99 from $49.99 until 5/30)
Samurai Bringer ($5.99 from $9.99 until 5/30)
Kero Blaster ($2.99 from $9.99 until 5/30)
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 Ultimate ($31.99 from $79.99 until 5/30)
DreamWorks Trolls Remix Rescue ($19.99 from $49.99 until 5/30)
DreamWorks All-Star Kart Racing ($15.99 from $39.99 until 5/30)
Skull Island: Rise of Kong ($15.99 from $39.99 until 5/30)
NASCAR Arcade Rush ($19.99 from $49.99 until 5/30)
Avatar: The Last Airbender ($19.99 from $49.99 until 5/30)
Astebreed ($3.99 from $19.99 until 5/30)
One Way Heroics Plus ($7.49 from $14.99 until 5/30)
Hakinowa Explorer Plus ($4.79 from $11.99 until 5/30)
Orangeblood ($5.99 from $19.99 until 5/30)
Touhou Luna Nights ($12.59 from $17.99 until 5/30)
Gnosia ($17.49 from $24.99 until 5/30)
Sales Ending Tomorrow, May 10th
9th Dawn III ($7.99 from $15.99 until 5/10)
A-Train All Aboard Tourism ($41.99 from $59.99 until 5/10)
Alpha Particle ($4.99 from $9.99 until 5/10)
Chop Goblins ($3.74 from $4.99 until 5/10)
Crypt Stalker ($1.99 from $6.99 until 5/10)
Fall of Porcupine ($9.99 from $19.99 until 5/10)
Froggie: A Retro Platformer ($3.49 from $4.99 until 5/10)
Growth ($4.99 from $9.99 until 5/10)
Hypnospace Outlaw ($4.99 from $19.99 until 5/10)
Ikkarus & the Prince of Sin ($6.49 from $9.99 until 5/10)
Itorah ($3.99 from $19.99 until 5/10)
Kasiori ($3.50 from $7.00 until 5/10)
Lies as a Starting Point ($1.99 from $8.00 until 5/10)
Mia and the Dragon Princess ($8.44 from $12.99 until 5/10)
Neo ATLAS 1469 ($24.99 from $49.99 until 5/10)
Nowhere Prophet ($2.24 from $24.99 until 5/10)
Rush Rally 3 ($4.49 from $14.99 until 5/10)
Scar of the Doll ($3.29 from $9.99 until 5/10)
Scheming Thru the Zombie Apocalypse Ep2 ($3.99 from $4.99 until 5/10)
SETTRIS ($2.99 from $4.99 until 5/10)
Shepherd’s Crossing ($14.99 from $29.99 until 5/10)
Squirrel Stapler ($5.99 from $7.99 until 5/10)
Star Wars: Episode I Racer ($7.49 from $14.99 until 5/10)
Star Wars: Jedi Academy ($9.99 from $19.99 until 5/10)
Star Wars: Jedi Outcast ($4.99 from $9.99 until 5/10)
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic ($7.49 from $14.99 until 5/10)
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II ($7.49 from $14.99 until 5/10)
Star Wars: Republic Commando ($7.49 from $14.99 until 5/10)
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed ($9.99 from $19.99 until 5/10)
The Red Exile Survival Horror ($2.49 from $4.99 until 5/10)
Three Minutes to Eight ($3.74 from $14.99 until 5/10)
Yes, Your Grace ($2.99 from $19.99 until 5/10)
That’s all for today, friends. We’ll be back tomorrow with the remaining releases of the week, plus whatever sales and big news items roll in over the course of the day. This was a rough day. I got some really bad news, and I’m still not sure what I’m going to do about it. Not health-related though, so don’t worry about that. I hope you all have a thrilling Thursday, and as always, thanks for reading!